Companies Continue to Push their Social 'Purposes' on Consumers
Cancel culture won't be going away any time soon. Nor will the increasing tendency for major corporations to merge popular social justice themes with their marketing messages and corporate value statements. All in the pursuit of money. Increasing profits. Gaining market share.
This trend is a form of stakeholder capitalism, and it began to take shape in the academic realm a several years ago. Its roots lie in the idea of corporate social responsibility. The concept was simple - big corporations may make huge profits for stockholders, but they also contribute to massive environmental destruction via their manufacturing and operational processes. Because of this, the notion emerged that these corporations owe it to society to engage in, fund, and take up causes that counter the negative aspects of their existence.
But It's no longer enough to chase sustainability goals like cutting carbon, reducing landfill, recycling, etc. Someone somewhere decided that stakeholder capitalism should be expanded to include social justice causes.
The same thinking applies - because money is power, rich corporations have a responsibility to wield their power in ways that make up for the fact that they're profitable.
They must make life more fair! More just and equitable! If not, they're to be seen as greedy abusers, uncaring entities without a conscious, who choose to remain blind the destruction caused by their participation in our capitalist society.
Pure rubbish, of course, but unfortunately the idea took hold. We now have companies like Walmart donating to causes such as Black Lives Matter, signaling their agreement that America is systemically racist . Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines involved themselves in the hotly debated revision of Georgia election laws under the guise of ensuring racial equity. Vogue magazine ran an article begging the question of whether having a baby in 2021 is 'pure environmental vandalism,' suggesting that having children isn't environmentally sustainable.
How did we get here?
Many blame our situation on the spread of progressive liberalism. But, there's something more sinister operating in the background. It's making a joke out of modern culture and forging new societal norms that are outright ridiculous and fundamentally harmful. What is this mysterious force that's invading the minds of otherwise reasonable people?
Perhaps it's the antichrist spirit spreading its wings. Perhaps it's the great delusion God promised would fall upon those who rejected Christ. Maybe it's both. The Bible doesn't specifically say that people will be morons in the last days, although one could probably argue in favor of the point. As a watchman, it certainly is strange to witness the behaviors of our leaders these days - both in business and politics.
Alas, it will undoubtedly get stranger in the coming months and years. The American Marketing Association recently wrote about the shift in company messaging in an article called Cancel culture and the rapid escalation of purpose-driven marketing.
"There is a classical marketing framework described as the “four Ps” – product, place, price, and promotion. For some companies, there must now be a fifth P – purpose. This is revolutionary because the first four Ps are driven by competitive market demands. Purpose-driven marketing could be driven by a societal demand," the organization stated.
Indeed, companies are now expected to have a purpose beyond making a profit and remaining operable in order to justify their existence.
There's no sign that this corporate social responsibility will wither on the vine, even though it often results in negative press and outright boycotts. And that's quite odd too. The fact that activities undertaken by a company in supportive of social justice initiatives can be bad for business seems lost on them.
As the old ways of this world continue to gradually wind down (some of them sensible and some of them not), the new ways will continue to ramp up. So be prepared - it's going to get stranger than any of us can imagine, I think. But, what doesn't kill us will certainly entertain us at least.
What's your take on the idea of corporate social responsibility and the actions being taken by major corporations to protect their reputations in this ever-changing, 'woke' world we find ourselves in? The Watch Post would love to know your thoughts! Leave us a comment below.
Comments